The perfect phone for the older generation

The Doro 8030 has a terrible camera, poor performance, a disappointing display, no fingerprint reader, a chunky build quality and runs on the outdated Android 5.1 mobile operating system. But to complain about this stuff really misses the point of the Doro 8030. Its purpose isn’t to compete...More

The Doro 8030 has a terrible camera, poor performance, a disappointing display, no fingerprint reader, a chunky build quality and runs on the outdated Android 5.1 mobile operating system. But to complain about this stuff really misses the point of the Doro 8030. Its purpose isn’t to compete with the best budget phones, but to provide a device that’s accessible to all. With its large physical buttons, rear-call-to-help button that sends a distress signal and intuitive interface, the Doro 8030 is a phone I’d recommend to the elderly or for your children. It’s fit for purpose and there’s no denying its target audience. Until a handset comes along that offers all of this with better performance and a lower price, the Doro 8030 is an unlikely champion.

A very good mobile solution

I’ve got to be honest, I liked this. It’s not the chunky, slightly ugly phone I expected. It’s fairly slim, well designed and the friendly buttons up front work well. The remote management solution is great, the Doro support is great. The additional on-screen menus and the GUI a...More

I’ve got to be honest, I liked this. It’s not the chunky, slightly ugly phone I expected. It’s fairly slim, well designed and the friendly buttons up front work well. The remote management solution is great, the Doro support is great. The additional on-screen menus and the GUI alterations are done well. It’s a nice, welcoming place to be if you’re an elderly user or you’re just someone who doesn’t take to technology well.

Best smartphone for seniors thanks to its simple software

For first-time users and seniors, the Doro 824 SmartEasy on Consumer Cellular is an excellent option. Its physical controls, clearly labeled apps and icons with step-by-step explanations, and the My Doro Manager app make for an intuitive, comprehensive experience.

For first-time users and seniors, the Doro 824 SmartEasy on Consumer Cellular is an excellent option. Its physical controls, clearly labeled apps and icons with step-by-step explanations, and the My Doro Manager app make for an intuitive, comprehensive experience.

Overall low spec at times leads to delays on loading apps

There are two ways of looking at the 820 Mini, it is either a rather underpowered Android smartphone that doesn’t really have any unique selling points bar the software or you could see it as a really great phone for the elderly, the technologically unsure or for a child. Doro have identified a huge range of use cases and have morphed the Android system to help the user get the job done quickly and easily...

There are two ways of looking at the 820 Mini, it is either a rather underpowered Android smartphone that doesn’t really have any unique selling points bar the software or you could see it as a really great phone for the elderly, the technologically unsure or for a child. Doro have identified a huge range of use cases and have morphed the Android system to help the user get the job done quickly and easily.

The few weeks I had the 820 Mini for were great fun, mainly for me the Android power user trying to see just what I could get it to do. Yes at times things were frustrating like with the lag at times, the unresponsiveness shortly after booting and the woeful camera. But for the market that Doro are targetting non of these issues will matter.

You really won’t find an easier smartphone to use

You really won’t find an easier smartphone to use than the Liberto 820, that’s something we can’t dispute. Even the most nervous of technophobes should be able to get to grips with it, and the option to have “helpers” remotely assist you is a great touch. If you&rsqu...More

You really won’t find an easier smartphone to use than the Liberto 820, that’s something we can’t dispute. Even the most nervous of technophobes should be able to get to grips with it, and the option to have “helpers” remotely assist you is a great touch. If you’ve been looking to move to a smartphone but were worried about things being too complicated the Doro Liberto 820 should put your fears to rest.

User-friendly and accessible mobile technology for all

Whether you’re considering the Doro for yourself or a loved one, the first thing to consider is how tech-savvy they are. If we set an arbitrary scale of one to ten, where ten is Steve Wozniak and one is Fred Flintstone, we’d say the Doro Liberto 820 will be a boon to anyone from levels two to four. These people will probably get the most out of the Doro’s ease of use and, if they get stuck, a helper can always step in remotely to assist...

Whether you’re considering the Doro for yourself or a loved one, the first thing to consider is how tech-savvy they are. If we set an arbitrary scale of one to ten, where ten is Steve Wozniak and one is Fred Flintstone, we’d say the Doro Liberto 820 will be a boon to anyone from levels two to four. These people will probably get the most out of the Doro’s ease of use and, if they get stuck, a helper can always step in remotely to assist.

We’d still steer clear of it for total technophobes. The Liberto 820 does a lot, and despite the great job Doro has done simplifying it, there’s no getting away from the sheer volume of settings and functionality an Android smartphone possesses. For those we’d recommend one of Doro’s feature phones, such as the PhoneEasy 621.

Anyone at a level of four or five and above should try a fully fledged Android, Windows or Apple iOS smartphone. iOS is the simplest to use, but Android also works well, and is much cheaper, when coupled with a simplified launcher.

The very first Doro smartphone for seniors, packing a new easy-use Android

Doro's Liberto 820 is an excellent debut smartphone from the master of senior-friendly handsets. Android can appear horribly complex to smartphone virgins but Doro has extended almost every kind of assistance imagineable, from the reworked desktops and the bonus help features to the nifty bundled dock...

Doro's Liberto 820 is an excellent debut smartphone from the master of senior-friendly handsets. Android can appear horribly complex to smartphone virgins but Doro has extended almost every kind of assistance imagineable, from the reworked desktops and the bonus help features to the nifty bundled dock.

As for the standard smartphone features, Doro hasn't skimped there either. The 4.5-inch screen is sharp and bright and the 8-megapixel camera is surprisingly good, capturing sharp photos packed with detail.

If you have an elderly or infirmed relative who'd like a handset to get online or take decent photos, without compromising ease of use, then the Doro Liberto 820 is simply your best choice.

Simplest user interface on any Android phone but not particularly powerful

The Liberto 810 offers a supremely accessible entry point for new users. The interface is simplistic but arguably this is one of the most successful implementations of Android yet. Too often with an Android phone, just when you’re getting comfortable, you accidentally blunder into a dark, unfurnished corner and have to fill in the gaps to find your way out. The Liberto 810 avoids this, and no matter where you go the friendly Doro interface is present...

The Liberto 810 offers a supremely accessible entry point for new users. The interface is simplistic but arguably this is one of the most successful implementations of Android yet. Too often with an Android phone, just when you’re getting comfortable, you accidentally blunder into a dark, unfurnished corner and have to fill in the gaps to find your way out. The Liberto 810 avoids this, and no matter where you go the friendly Doro interface is present.

One thing that always impresses me is attention to detail, and you can tell Doro has really thought about a phone’s design and target market. The Doro Liberto 810 is full of these little touches, from the chunky USB cable to the fact that the only available font sizes are ‘Medium’ and ‘Large’! This phone has been designed with a very clear purpose in mind: to deliver the Android experience in the most accessible way possible.

I found it impossible to dislike the Liberto 810, simply because it’s so good at doing what it’s supposed to do! There aren’t that many bells and whistles and it’s never going to be a fashion accessory, but it’s the simplest Android phone you’ll find and that makes it a great choice for new users.

Nice design with easy to use buttons but very slow and far too expensive

It’s very hard to recommend the Liberto 810, particularly with its £150 price. The extremely capable Moto G, for example, can be bought for less than £100 and the difference in quality and specs between it and the Doro cannot be overstated. Couple the Moto G with a simple Android launcher like Wiser and you have a very capable and easy to use phone. Companies like Huawei and Acer also have simple versions of the UI baked into new phones...

It’s very hard to recommend the Liberto 810, particularly with its £150 price. The extremely capable Moto G, for example, can be bought for less than £100 and the difference in quality and specs between it and the Doro cannot be overstated. Couple the Moto G with a simple Android launcher like Wiser and you have a very capable and easy to use phone. Companies like Huawei and Acer also have simple versions of the UI baked into new phones.

Indeed, it's really hard to understand what Doro is trying to achieve here. It specialises in making simple phones and does that well, but its lack of Android experience is clear to see and having Android adds little when it works so poorly on this phone. If you need to buy a simple, easy to use phone, the Doro PhoneEasy 621 is a much better options and costs just £60.

If you need a simple phone, buy a Moto G and add a 'simple' launcher or just buy a basic feature phone.

Attractive phone to use.

I got this as a standby on O2 but have so far continued to use it because I like it!
My battery is fine, lasts a couple of days..Although it is a phone designed for ease of use seemingly for the elderly, it is no bad thing that the text on the screen is large and the sound is loud and crisp. It is...More

I got this as a standby on O2 but have so far continued to use it because I like it!
My battery is fine, lasts a couple of days..Although it is a phone designed for ease of use seemingly for the elderly, it is no bad thing that the text on the screen is large and the sound is loud and crisp. It is odd that the internet is not so easy to navigate, I expect not too many people will use it but downloading mp3's is fast. Having said that, although there is memory card expansion there is no mp3 player on the phone... You can navigate the phone through the menu system and get it to play mp3's and it has a good sound but it is a shame that there is no featured mp3 player as you have to start every mp3 manually. There seems not much other use for memory card expansion unless for your photo collection.. The camera is surprisingly good and gives clear bright pictures at 2 megapixel, so more than the usual basic phone camera. The radio is clear and you can have it on speaker but you do need to make sure that the speaker is off if you are in a public place and you can't change that except via the menu system and so the radio needs to be coming out of the speakers during that time, so you may disturb other people while you do this, but plenty of people disturb others by having the headphones turned up loud anyway so it is not a serious concern. The phone has a nice feel to it and pleasant to use. Phone calls are clear and crisp. I haven't investigated the emergency calling functions on the phone as I don't need them, but there is a button on the back which seems all to easy to press by mistake.. I guess it is better to be safe than sorry. Personally, I would buy this phone for an elderly relative, my mum is 79 but she loves her Samsung Galaxy too much, so I wouldn't suggest for her though!
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Disappointed Customer

This was a total waste of money for me, after only two months it won't even take a charge. Also I could only send texts but not receive them back. Maybe I just got a defective one. But I'd be wary. I've never had any phone at any price over the year's stop working this quickly and no I didn't drop it in the lake or anywhere else!

This was a total waste of money for me, after only two months it won't even take a charge. Also I could only send texts but not receive them back. Maybe I just got a defective one. But I'd be wary. I've never had any phone at any price over the year's stop working this quickly and no I didn't drop it in the lake or anywhere else!
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Backlight/Display not continuous

The display switches itself off after a pre-selected number of seconds which is hopeless as if you are not near when a call or text arrives you won't know as there is no indication visible on the screen until you unlock the keypad at some point in the future.

I have and my wife have had a doro 632 for over two years and it has not given one iota of trouble,battery last for as long as needed,easy to use,i recommend a payg sim no problems and if it fails within the warranty period send it back.would thoroughly this product.

Crap!

Voicemail doesn't come with phone, bolt on's required, cannot call or txt abroad - more money. And takes £10 every month from you, just to keep you connected - even if you feel you haven't used that previous £10.....

AS A BASIC PHONE...OK

I've only had this phone for a month but after reading other reviews here, I have another 30 days before the phones true colors show themselves.
I do have a few disappointments already. Phone does not answer when flipped open, I have to manually press the green key to connect the call. I checked the m...More

I've only had this phone for a month but after reading other reviews here, I have another 30 days before the phones true colors show themselves.
I do have a few disappointments already. Phone does not answer when flipped open, I have to manually press the green key to connect the call. I checked the manual to see if I could program it to do that, negative. Photo album / screen display keeps erasing itself, calendar doesn't have a seperate reminder ring tone for schedule appointments ectera.
Last complaints are minor, so far, just an issue with call quality which supplier says is fixed with a signal reboot. I'll let you know if this is a tall tale to shut me up. If it is...it's back to my nemisis"Bell"
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